Boll-weevil catcher



H 1,519,973 Apnl 6 m25 E, H. TRlcK BOLL WEEVIL CATCHER Filed June 14, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet l Guy @www April 6, 1925.

1,579,973 E. VH. TRlcK BOLL WEEVIU CATCHER Filed June 14, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 In/vento@ @(7 www April 6 1926' E, H. TRlcK BOLL WEEVIL CATCHER Filed June 14. 1924 4 sheets-sheet :S

@L l f l e', Q f Q I f "Q 1;' t Il 0 h m n l l v Q 1 I a) bb g2 f/ Q I [W m N I I k we h w h r-l & w Q I l l b ik tgl: l n n Q w 1,579,973 April 6 1926 E. H, TRlcK BOLL wEEvIL cATcHER Filed June 14. 1924 4 sheets-sheet i vue-.7 mommy Patented Apr. 6, 1926. A n UNITED fgsfrnrrs PATE-Nr oi1F?Fior:.V

y EDGAR. n. Tnrox, oFfsANfaNmoNro,anexas, Assrenon on! ONE-HALF To RUDOLPH A.

:.REHBERG, oF sim-- ANTONIO, TEXAS. 'p

DoLL-.WEEVIL ontronnn Appliatonrled .Tune 14,1924. Serial No. 719,979.

To all fai/1.0m t vmay onaem: ends of said shafts are sprocket pinionsl 11 Be it known thatl, EDGAR .HL Talon, a vwhich are driven through chains 12 trained citizen of the Unitedrv States, residing at San around sprocket gears 13 secured to the in- Antonio, in the county of Bexary 'anidfStafte Vnei-*sides -of the ground Wheels 8 in any con- ;5 1of1TeXas, have invented certain new and'use venient manner. Stop collars 111 are scoured 60 ful Improvements in Boll-Veevil Catchers, ,upon the shafts S andr),` adjacent the inner y of Which'thefollowing lisa specification. i sides of the bearings in Whichthey are jour- My invention relates to ,boll "iyeevil 11a-led so-as to prevent endwiseinoveinent of catchers andyhas for its objectth'e provision the shaft-s,y and fitted loosely about the shaft-s ,.10 of a novel'inachine which niaybedijawirover "are lth'ef'fornf'- diy eizten'ding arinsorfraines 65 a field'along rowsof cotton plantsandbeat vvl-'iich carry transverse shaftsl() at their fiointlie. plants theinsec'tsv fcedingthereon front ends. y fUpon vthe outer end offeaeh vaswell as' ,thev bolls which have;beenv 'injured VAshaft 16 isa pinion 17 and trained abouttlie and dead foliage. Theinvention -seeksto saidpnionmanda sprocket gea-r 1 8 upon the 115 provide novel ineanfs for'operatingfthebeatshaft i8 jorj9, as' the caso niay be, is va 70 `20 following,descriptionpand -theinventonre Vbar of the main-'frame 1 adjacent the for'- `215 kIn the drawings:

*40 tangular in forni and constructed kof angle transmitted through the described .gearing to ers, and also provide ineans foradjusting the sprocket chain 19 so thatfthe rot-ationof vthe beaters and the parts cooperating therewith vshafts 8 and9 Willbetransinitted tothe to the heights of the plants. Other objects sprockets 17 andthence tothe shafts 16 in will appear incidentally inthe course of the an obvious manner. j Secured upon a cross sides in certain; novel featuresl'whi'ch ,Willbe `Ward ends of the 1- framesk or arms 15 are .hereinafter first fullyfdeseribed and then standards 20, and extensions 21 ofthe frames more particularly pointed` out in the apvv15 are 'secured to the-said standardathe pended claims. Y f l standards' being provided with a plurality l l Y of openings 22 in their upper portions,k S0

Figure 1 :is aplanvieW of a `nl achinefeinthrough any one'of which the connecting bolt ,bodyng my invention;` Y :may be inserted so that the front end of the *Figa 2 is a side'elevation of thesame; Y frame 15 may besupported atpthe kdesired Fig. 3 isa rear elevation With parts'broken height.y Each shaft 16 is equippedy at its ISU away; f inner lend, with acrankv 23 to ,which isfpiv- Fig. l is a kdetail sectional elevationfof `a Voted the upper end ofa pitnian 24, the lower part ofthe operating mechanism, the .section .end of which is pivotally, connected to the Vbeinlg` taken on the line 1 -1 of lig.v 1; fsubjacent beater Q5. The pitinan 24 s'pref- Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail. section onV the erably. constructedin a plurality 'of sections, lineof FignQ, and y y as shown in Figs. Sand 4f, so thatthe length Fig. V6 is a detail section on the line 6-6 .of the pitnian may be varied as circumof Fig. 3. stances may suggest. It will be readily Ink carrying out the invention, I employ noted that as thefmachine is drawn forward a main 'frame 1 which is preferably rec- 'jtheniotion of the ground Wheels vWill be .bars arranged ,longitudinally and transthe .shafts 16y and the pitinan .24 thereby versely and rigidly secured, together. This caused .to impart vertical oscillationgtofthe `frame ,is carried byan axle 2, upon :the ends beaters. f A 'l p p of `Which lare mounted ground yWheels 3, and Adj acent thefront end of the inain frame, draft bars l are seouredfto the frame and arock shaft 26 is mounted thereon,` and this project therefrom in -any convenient or preshaft is controlled by a `hand lever. 2'( ysef ferredmanneny .A narrowgplatforrnf is Valso curedtheretoand cooperating lwith aseg- 'secured upon the :frange ratthe .transverse 1n'e1 it ;l 28 arrpiedby `.a bracket 29 secured n entelvtlielfeof, and .this Platform-:Supports a .fupn 11e-front ,bar@filename-.1iCranks seatifandffvtool box 7 a *3G-e1". ,Seued eroetheeslwft'f2`6ia1dnoi*- `Journal` d in siiitable;bearingsat theujear ginally dependtherefrom,oonnectinorodsfl lifnedfesliafts Send-3,9 fh '11s;eiV-Otedgtfthe .19nd .A

endsjsupported:zinga- J-er ksfgand'extending rearwardl 1 t nthe lower "ends" ing from a rock shaft 33 which is mounted in suitable bearings upon the main frame are pivoted the upper ends of hangers 36 Cil and 37 respectively. Cranks 38, corresponding to the cranks 34, are secured upo-n the shaft 33 and cranks 39, corresponding to the cranks 35, are also secured upon said shaft, hangers 40 being pivotally attached to the cranks 38 and hangers 41 being pivotally attached to the cranks 39. In the lower ends of the hangers 3G and 40 are vrotatably fitted the rods 42 which are pret'- erably tubular to reduce the weight, and rotatably fitted upon these rods are hinge straps 43 which extend inwardly and upwardly from the rods and are secured upon the upper sides of the beaters. The tubular rods, which constitute pintles for the hinges, are held in their proper spaced relation by brace members 44 extending in` wardly and upwardly at the rear end of themachine and having their inner upper ends connected by a bar 45, while additional brace members 46 extend from the ends of said bar upwardly and outwardly to the hangers 40. Adjacent the 'front end of the frame, an arched brace 47 has its ends litted around the rods 42, and coupling bars 48 extend between the sides of the arched brace 47 and the hangers 36.

Then the hand lever 27 is swung rearwardly, the cranks 34 and 35 will be swung downwardly and the cranks 30 forwardly, the motion of the latter cranks being transmitted through the connecting rods 31 to the cranks 32 so that corresponding movement will occur in the shaft 33 and the cranks 38 will be swung downwardly. As a result of this movement, the hangers 36 and 40 will be lowered and the rods 42 and the parts mounted thereon and cooperating therewith will be likewise lowered so that the beaters will be adjusted to act 011 young' low plants. Reverse adjustment is effected Vby swinging the hand lever 27 forwardly so that the beaters may be very easily and `16 andthe beaters as may be necessary.

Adjacent each hinge member 43, a spring 49 is coiled around the adjacent rod 42 and has one end engaged under the hinge ineinlber, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5, and

its other lend fitted in a collar or abutment 50 secured upon the rod. When the inner free-edge of the beater is depressed in the operation vot the machine, the spring-Will be put under increased tension so that, when the downwardly applied force is removed, the spring will aid in returning the beater to its upper position.

The hangers 37 and 41 disposed adjacent the medial longitudinal line of the machine are respectively brought together below the main frame to form a standard or hanger bar 51 and to the lower end of each of said bars 51 is secured a loop 52 disposed transversely of the machine and constituting the main supports for a pan The Vloops are connected by longitudinally extending bars 54 and the pan 53 extends through the loops and rests upon the said bars, the front ends of the said bars being turned upwardly, as shown at 55, to form stops for the pan. A bracket 57 is secured upon the rear end of the pan 53 and projects above the top thereof, a spring 58 being disposed between and attached to the said bracket and the lower end of the adjacent hanger bar 51 so that the pan will be held against the front upturned ends of the bars 54 and displacement rearwardly by the plants between which it is drawn will be avoided. To prevent buckling of the pan, ridges or cross bars 5G may be provided therein, and these ridges or cross bars will minimize the splashing of any poison or other liquid which may be placed in the pan and, consequently, will reduce loss of the same.

Additional supports for the rods or hinge pins 42 may be provided by braces 59 extending between the front ends of the rods and the hangers 36, and deflectors 60 are provided in the form of bars extending inwardly and rearwardly from the front ends of the rods, as shown clearly in Fig. .1, these bars preferably,following curved lines. To properly support the free ends of these deflectors, brace bars 61 are provided and extend between the said deflectors, adjacent the inner free ends thereof, and the rods, the lower ends of the brace 47 being also secured to these brace bars 61 so that a rigid structure will be attained without interfering with the ivotal movement of the beaters about the roc s.

' It is thought the operation of the machine will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. The machine is intended to act upon two rows of plants, the pan traveling between the rows and each beater being disposed over one of the rows` while the ground wheels travelin the furrows at t-he outer sides of the rows over which the beaters are respectively disposed. As the machine is drawn along, the rotation ofthe ground wheels will be transmitted through the described gearing to the shaft l'16 and, through the connections 'of said shafts witlrthe beaters, the beaters, Will be rocked or oscillated about the rods 42. The forward travel of the machine brings the delleetors against the stems of the plants and the plants are. thereby bent over the pan 55. The bending ofthe plants will suffice to cause the grown weevils to at once fall therefrom into the pan while the younger more tenacious insects will be caused to drop therefrom by the impacts of the heaters upon the plants. The beaters are preferably plates of relatively thin sheet metal reinforced by angle bars secured upon their upper surfaces, as clearly shown, and the motion imparted the-reto is such that they will deliver a blow upon the plants which will be sufficient to dislodge the insects, the dead foliage andthe bo-lls which may have been killed by the insects, without at the same time injuring the tender stems or the bolls which have not been attacked. The beaters are disposed longitudinally of the machine and their inner edges are spaced apart and located at opposite sides of the medial longitudinal line of the machine.

The machine is substantial in construction so that it will withstand rough usage and will operate efficiently but is not complicated in its arrangement.

Having thus described the invention, I claim: A

l. The combination of a portable frame, a longitudinally extending pan suspended on the frame at the center thereof, beaters suspended on the frame above and at the opposite sides of the pan, and means for vertically oscillatingthe beaters whereby to move their inner edges toward and from the pan.

2. The combination of a vportable frame, a pan suspended on the frame and extending longitudinally thereof at the center of the same, pivot members suspended on the frame and extending longitudinally thereof at the sides of the same, beaters hinged upon said pivot members and extending inwardly `and upwardly therefrom over the pan, means for oscillating the beaters, and means for vertically adjusting the pivot members and the beaters.

8. The combination of a portable frame, a. pan suspended upon the frame at the center thereof, pivot members suspended upon the frame at the sides of the same, hinge elements mounted upon said pivot members and eziztending inwardly and upwardly therefrom, abutinents upon the pivotmembers adjacent said hinge elements, coil-ed springs disposed about the pivot members between the said abutment-s and the said hinge elements and having their ends engaged respectively with the abutment and the hinge element, beaters carried by the hinge elements, and means mounted on the frame and connected with the beaters to rock the same aboutthe pivot members. j

4. The combination of a portable frame, a pan suspended centrally thereon, pivot members suspended on the. frame at thejsides thereof, beaters hingedly mounted upon the pivot members and extending inwardly and upwardly therefrom over the pan, means for rocking the beaters, and deflectors carried by the front ends of the pivotmembers andL extending inwardly and rearwardly therefrom and terminating adjacent the front end of the pan.

5. rlfhe combination of a portable frame., hangers mounted on the frame, loops secured to the lower ends of the hangers and disposed transversely of the frame,'longitudinal' bars extending between the loops` a pan extending through theI loops and resting on said bars, means for preventing displacement of the pan, and rocking beaters mounted on the frame above and at the sides of the pan to cooperate therewithin catching insects. j l

.6. The combination of a portable main frame, wheels supporting said frame, a shaft mounted upon the main frame across the rear end thereof, means whereby said shafts may bel rotated from 'the ground wheels, supplemental frames fitted about said shaft and extending forwardly therefrom, means on the mainframe for adjustj i ably supporting the front ends of the suppl-emental frames crank shafts journaled in the front ends of the supplemental frames, operative connections between the saidcrank shafts and the first-mentioned sha-ft, beaters suspended on the main frame and operatively connected with the crankshafts, and a pan suspended on the frame below and bctween the beaters. l

7. rIhe combination of a portable main frame, a rock'shaft mounted on the frame adjacent the forward end thereof, cranks on said rock shaft, a second rock shaft on the` frame adjacent the rear end thereof, cranks on said rear shaft, connecting rods pivoted to and extending between the cranks on the two shafts, means for roc-king the firstmentioned shaft and securing it in a setL position, suspending cranks secured `upon each shaft, hangers attached to and depending from said suspending cranks, a pan carried by some of said hangers, beat-ers carried by the otherhangers and `arranged aboveand at the sides of the pan, and means for y rocking the beaters. n y

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature. n

EDGAR H. THICK. [n s@ 

